Various functional polymers are employed in silver halide photographic materials. For instance, antistatic agents, viscosity imparting agents and flocculating agents, etc. are known. Polymers which reveal higher level functions include polymers for a timing layer, polymers for compensation for temperature and polymers for mordanting a dye, each useful in instant photography, etc. as described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,958,995, 3,295,970 and 3,706,557, Photogr. Sci. Eng., Vol 20, page 155 (1976), etc. Other photographic functional polymers including polymer couplers as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,739,956, 2,561,205, 2,976,294 and 4,128,427, etc., polymer ultraviolet ray absorbing agents as described in Japanese patent application (OPI) No. 560/72 (the term "OPI" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), etc., polymer antifogging agents as described in Japanese patent application (OPI) No. 90844/84, etc., and polymer silver salt stabilizers as described in Japanese patent application (OPI) No. 211142/82, etc. are also known, With these polymers, however, their property does not drastically change before and after development processing.
With respect to silver halide photographic materials, high image quality, simple and rapid processing, and fastness of images formed have been strongly desired. Therefore, further high level function is desired in photographic functional polymers.
As advantages of polymerization of low molecular functional compounds it is generally considered to make diffusion resistance, to provide selective reactivity by forming high molecular materials, to stabilize unstable substances, to easily control properties by means of copolymerization, to simplify a dispersing step, etc.
Depending on the functional compounds, it is desired that their function appear or disappear before and after development processing or that their properties, such as solubility, diffusibility, viscosity, etc. drastically change before and after development processing. As low molecular compounds having such function, antifogging agent precursors or development inhibitor precursors as described in Japanese patent publication Nos. 17369/79, 9696/80 and 39727/79, Japanese patent application (OPI) Nos. 135944/82 and 136640/82, etc. and silver halide solvent precursors as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,480, etc. have been already employed or proposed. However, there is little mention of compounds having both advantages based on polymerization and particular functions of low molecular compound, specifically polymers which exhibit or lose functions before and after development processing or polymers with properties that drastically change before and after development processing.